Home Again
by Nascence
Summary: Undyne left to see the world before she and Alphys could sort out their feelings. Now, a year later, Undyne is back and both seem to be unsure about where the time gap has left the other in regards to their feelings. First Undertale fic; cc is welcome. Please let me know what you think.
1. Chapter 1

Sunlight spilled through the slit of a curtain, illuminating spokes of dust floating in its path and pressing against a pair of yellow lidded eyes just right. Alphys stirred with a groan from deep in her belly. Her eyes fluttered open only momentarily before squeezing shut again, and she flipped herself in her bed.

It had been over a year since Frisk had freed them all from the underground. A hard year. Human-monster relations were tender; humans had felt a surge of fear and panic at first. With the help of Frisk, Asgore and Toriel had dispelled those fears. Humans learned quickly that monsters were nothing to be feared anymore. Still, for so long humans had convinced themselves that monsters had been a work of fiction... the concept of living together was still a new one.

Most of the Underground had dispersed to see the world. Many stayed close to Mount Ebott. Alphys was one of them. She liked the rolling hills of trees and cool springs, visible from her backyard. She also liked the industrial skyscape, visible from her front. More than that - fear gripped at her any time she considered leaving Asgore and Frisk behind. Even... Even when...

Undyne had left, too. She had extended an invitation to join her (and Papyrus, as well as Sans) to Alphys, but Alphys couldn't bring herself to follow her - love or not. Undyne talked about exploring the outside world in it's entirety and had set off to do just that during a time where relations with humans were still finicky and uncertain. Alphys almost had begged her not to leave. In the end she couldn't bring herself to hold Undyne back and, instead, exchanged with her a tense and tearful goodbye-for-now.

That had been a year ago. Alphys had felt her absence echo painfully in her chest every day since.

But - the realization that morning was trying to burst into her room snapped Alphys into sudden, total consciousness. She rolled out of her bed a little too excitedly, falling to her back with a heavy thud. She paused there a moment to evaluate her life in one quick burst before shooting up and snatching her glasses off of her bedside table and practically smashing them onto her snout. She was panting now - more in excitement than exhaustion - and threw the curtains open in a dramatic sweep.

"AUGH."

She shielded her eyes with her arm. Sunlight was great and everything - when you were adjusted to it. She often felt accosted by the bright star when she was first getting ready for the day. Mostly, she left her curtains drawn and blinds shut. Alphys didn't travel beyond the walls of her home much and frankly, she felt there was no need for the sun to be constantly barraging her eyes, making the colors on her TV or computer monitor less vibrant. How could she deprive herself of the true deep pinks and pastel blues in Mew Mew Kissy Cutie? For the sun?

Today the sun was her friend. She had only a small lamp on the short stubby table next to her bed, and the light it gave off was soft and barely reached the end of her bed let alone her wardrobe.

What to wear? She thought, rummaging through a drawer full of white lab coats. Sweat beaded on her forehead. No no no, none of these would do. She opened a second drawer - one she had fondly labled her "Frisk" drawer (the one at the way bottom had been dubbed the "Mettaton" drawer, and she never touched it) - and _bingo_. Yes.

She discardered her pajamas and replaced them with a baby blue blouse with sleeves that reached the middle of her forearms and slick black pants - struggling only a moment to poke her tail through the hole in the back. She even dared to slip a bracelet onto her wrist.

Today was the day Undyne said she'd be back.

Although far away, Undyne had always kept in touch through the phone. Occassionally, Alphys had even received letters. She had them tucked away in the drawer by her bed, pulling them out to read them on an almost nightly basis. The day Undyne had mentioned coming back, Alphys felt a permanent shift in her mood. Apparently, according to her dear friend, coming back had always been the plan. The when was what had been up for debate.

Alphys snatched her phone from amidst the tangled bedsheets and quickly thumbed through her messages. It was close to 12 in the afternoon, she noticed. She saw she had a few texts from Frisk prodding to see if she was awake yet, one from Mettaton - chain mail, which she derived from the wording was his own creation -, and ... that was it.

She frowned and sat on the side of her bed wth a dejected sigh, forwarding Mettaton's chain mail to everyone in her contacts as usual and mentioning to Frisk that she was, indeed, awake. Swiping over to her account on UnderNet to send them a friendly poke, she saw she had an unread message notification flashing in attempt to snatch her attention.

It was Undyne!

Sent hours ago, in the earliest whisps of sunlight, Undyne had wrote her:

"We're about to board the plane! See ya when I see ya."

A smile stretched across her face and she shut her screen off, shoved her phone in her pocket, and hustled out of her apartment.

oOoOoOoOo

She hadn't been the only one waiting to greet the returning trio at the airport; there, she met up with the former rulers of the Underground and their adopted child Frisk - who was carrying a pot, Flowey planted in its soil. In the time that had passed since they had watched their first sunset together, Asgore and Toriel had begun mending their broken bond. Not nearly enough to reconcile and get back together - much to Asgore and Alphys' dismay both - but enough to get along, for Frisk. Frisk rarely went anywhere without their flower companion.

Now here they were together in terminal... something or other. Alphys had been paying more attention to her phone, guided by Frisk, in an attempt to ignore how crowded it was in the wide open halls of the airport. Her phone was tucked away now and she sat fidgeting with the cloth of her shirt, suddenly incredibly self conscious of her wardrobe choice...

The plane had touched down. She registered Toriel announcing this very distantly and instantly her stomach tied itself into knots of nerves, her ability to focus on anything but the racing thoughts or the pounding of her heart diminishing by the second. It was overwhelming. Seeing all three of them at once after such a long period of time - would things be the same? Would they be distant? What if they had only kept in touch with her based on pity?

Part of her argued against this line of thinking but it was a quieter voice, less certain than the one assuring her she was disposable and probably burdenous.

A small hand closed over her own sweating and shaking pair laced together so tightly the knuckles had begun to lose some color in the strain. The voices hushed immediately and her eyes flickered over to meet Frisk's, who was looking at her with a gentle reassurance. It calmed her, even though it outlined the fact that her inner turmoil had been splattered quite visibly on her face. Toriel and Asgore seemed not to notice, thankfully, facing the stream of people flooding into the terminal and greeting loved ones and friends - no doubt searching for the odd triad sure to stick out from everyone else.

'It's going to be okay,' Frisk signed with a determined smile plastered on their face.

Alphys felt some tension leave her shoulders. It took her a moment to return their smile, but she did, and then -

"YOUR MAJESTIES."

The familiar voice of Papyrus drowned out the sea of chatter around them all, attracting plenty of attention to the monsters that was, luckily, short lived.

Papyrus, being so tall with a visage that stood starkly against a sea of earthy flesh tones, stuck out like a sore thumb. He was striding over to them with a skip to his step, his much shorter brother Sans in tow and with a vastly different gait that eminated the laid back nature he possessed. Behind them, almost as tall as Papyrus, strut the lean yet muscular former leader of the Royal Guard, Undyne. All three of them looked absolutely brimming with joy to see the gathering awaiting their arrival.

Alphys stood up and clasped her hands to her chest, beaming and trying to fight back the bile that crept up the back of her throat when her stomach clenched hard on itself. It was, she thought, a rather confusing cocktail of emotions swirling through her.

"Papyrus! Sans! Undyne!" Toriel was the first to respond, throwing her arms wide and giving them a warm smile that could almost rival the ones she reserved for her adopted son. "It is so good to see you again."

They shared an embrace with Toriel, with Asgore (Undyne lingering longer for this hug than she had with Toriel), with Frisk - who was lifted into the air by their taller companions - and Flowey threatened them not to touch his pot at all. Begrudgingly he issued a hello, though, which was received with warmth as any friend of Frisk's was a friend of theirs.

Alphys did not expect to be lifted as Frisk had. Though she was about their height, she weighed a considerable amount more than they did and - and well she was an adult. Papyrus honored her expectations, leaning down and giving her a gentle but meaningful squeeze accompanied by a quick pat on the back. Undyne, however, hooked her arms right under the unsuspecting (and incredibly sweaty) Alphys' armpits and lifted her effortlessly into a hug.

"NGAAAAAAAH, ALPHYS," she exclaimed - much like she had done for Asgore and Frisk. Alphys was something akin to shell shocked, her breath caught in her throat and limbs and tail stiffening. It seemed like ages passed before Undyne let her back down onto her feet, which nearly failed on her to her dismay.

"U-Undyne," she squeaked, finally, pressing her glasses closer to her eyes. Her hands began to fiddle nervously with the hem of her shirt. "H-h-how w-was your tr-trip?"

Undyne shot her her biggest grin and put her hands on her hips triumphantly. "Alphy, you should have _seen_ it," she boasted, chest sticking out. "Well, I mean, you saw the pics on UnderNet - but I mean _really_ seen it!"

Alphys felt her cheeks grow warmer.

"Come on, now," Toriel piped up. "We can all talk more in the van! Let us go get your suitcases, hm? We have a surprise for you at home!"

Frisk looked at Toriel indignantly and signed swiftly, 'Don't tell them! That spoils the surprise!'

Toriel hid a chuckle behind her hand and Asgore chimed in, "No worries, Frisk! Tori wouldn't spoil the party - _oops_."

The reaction was instantaneous; Frisk threw their hands up in the air, Flowey let out a low rumble that Alphys supposed was laughter, Toriel face palmed, and Papyrus let out a dramatic gasp.

"A PARTY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS?" He wiped away an imaginary tear. "I'M TOUCHED. I WILL PREPARE SPAGHETTI ONCE WE ARRIVE TO CELEBRATE YOUR CELEBRATION OF ME."

Undyne leaned in to the nervous group with a reassuring look, "Papyrus and I took a few cooking lessons together, I don't burn shi- I mean, stuff - to the ground anymore and Pap's getting pretty good."

Sans also leaned in close. "I thought it was im- _pasta_ -ble, but she's right."

Toriel and Frisk giggled in spite of their frustration of a ruined surprised, and then the group departed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey! Thanks for the positive reviews, I really appreciate that! I admittedly don't have any plans to like, publish this on a schedule. That means I'll probably write a few chapters one week then nothing for a few weeks, it could also mean I publish every week for a month or so? Idk. I'm just publishing as I finish the chapters and I'm writing when I feel like it so D:**

The ride to Toriel's home had been filled with constant conversation, a cacophony that had Alphys overwhelmed (and, she noted, Flowey, who Frisk was attempting to soothe the whole ride). They had nearly gotten into an accident when Papyrus whipped out a cryptex he had collected while away and jammed it into Toriel's line of vision, shouting that she should give it a try when they got home.

Things didn't really calm down when they reached their destination, either. Asgore collected the skeleton brothers' things from the trunk, not breaking a sweat. Alphys felt her cheeks burn and swallowing became difficult for some reason when she saw him lug five suitcases into the house by himself. Everyone followed him in - everyone but Undyne, who lingered by the open trunk, and Alphys, who was standing awkwardly and curling her toes in the grass of the lawn.

Both of them were silent. Alphys hadn't noticed Undyne by the vehicle, watching her with something of an intense gaze.

She was lost in her own thoughts again and ruminating on what it meant to her to have this set of friends back again. There was joy, blossoming like a spring rose after a long and arduous winter, but there was a sense of dread that clung to the petals like a sickness. Before they had left the Underground, Undyne and her had touched the subject of their feelings for each other. But, after they had come to the surface... Everything seemed to happen so fast. There was no time to talk while everyone scrambled to figure out things with the humans, with themselves. And when they had done with that, Undyne had announced that she would be traveling and - and Alphys let her confession die in her throat.

A cloud slid in front of the sun and painted a shadow over them both. It was then that Undyne shut the trunk and surprised Alphys into realizing she was still there. She jumped and slapped a hand to her mouth to cover a gasp, head snapping in Undyne's direction, eyes wide and sweat beading on her forehead when she saw who it was.

"U-Undyne, y-you didn't g-go i-i-in with everone e-else?" She stammered, the warmth she felt when she saw Asgore lifting the bags like they were nothing returning now with gusto.

Undyne cracked a wide smile and hooked a hand on her hip, jamming her thumb into her own chest. "Do I look like a follower, shorty?"

Alphys blushed harder. "N-n-no, I -"

"I'm just pullin' your leg," Undyne interrupted before Alphys could apologize. She seemed to be gravitating closer and closer to Alphys. "I was worried about you. You were pretty quiet in the car, and you seem kinda... Not okay."

She was not smiling so much anymore, and her gaze soft. She seemed concerned, which only made the swirling poor of anxiety in Alphys' stomach increase in intensity.

"N-no I'm f-fine!" She squeaked, the beads of sweat threatening to begin rolling down her face now. "Honest! I... I'm just..."

Alphys cast her eyes to the ground between their feet.

"I missed you," she said softly, refusing to look up at her friend at all now.

Undyne was quiet for what seemed like an eternity before she closed the distance between the two of them and gathered Alphys into an serious squeeze. She didn't let go when she gently spoke, "I missed you, too."

Alphys had stiffened in her embrace, but after quick deliberation she returned the hug with earnest.

When Undyne pulled away, Alphys thought her eyes seemed glassier than before.

"So," Undyne said, clearing her throat. "I actually wanted to ask you something."

Alphys' heart, for the third time that day, was caught in her throat. "Y-yes?"

"Toriel kind of has a full house with Sans and Papy staying with her right now," she said slowly, gesturing to the modest house looming over them. "And it's no big deal if you don't like the idea, I can go crash at Asgore's place for a few nights.."

She trailed off.

Alphys caught the bait and was now looking up at Undyne again, her eyebrows furrowed together. "If you want, I have a pull out couch; you can stay with me -"

"Aw, Alphy, thanks," Undyne burst, again sweeping down to hug her lizardy companion. "Asgore said he and Toriel could help me start looking for a place tomorrow, so I won't burden you for long -"

Alphys didn't think this would be a burden at all.

"- So now that that's out of the way, did you wanna go in and get this party started?"

Alphys only nodded, registering that Frisk was peering out at them from the window - no doubt wondering what was keeping them.

"Great! Let's go." Undyne grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the door. Alphys felt some of the darkness clouding her thoughts drift away, just as the sun peeked back out at the world below it.

oOoOoOoOo

"Great party punk!"

It had been pretty tame; a lot of talking had ensued, everyone busy filling each other in on things they had kept in touch about over the phone and through social media anyways. A lot of attention had gone to Frisk, asking them about how they were readjusting to life on the surface with their new family, asking about school, about new friends.

The sun was so close to dipping below the horizon now; the sky was a brilliant painting of golds and pinks and purples. Distantly, an inky canvas speckled with glittering stars began to swallow the bright colors.

Alphys stood on the threshold of Toriel's home, Undyne before her and knelt down to Frisk's height so she could ruffle their hair.

'I'm glad you had fun,' they signed. 'Are you staying with Alphy tonight?'

"Yeah! We're gonna play video games and watch anime," she said, looking over to Alphys with a big smirk. Alphys tried to suppress a smile but failed.

"Y-yes! You should come spend the night with us sometime this week, Frisk," Alphys piped. Toriel chuckled warmly from behind Frisk and nodded her approval.

'Can Flowey come too?'

"Of course, Flowey is always invited," Alphys said. Flowey, from the other side of the room, glared over at them - though, Alphys could sense the relief in his expression. She had come to learn over time that Flowey was more afraid and alone than anything else. He'd put up the front of an attitude but, she thought, he was a good kid at heart. Frisk cared about them, and that alone spoke volumes. Frisk seemed to bring that side of him out more often, too.

They said their goodbyes and Undyne transferred her suitcases into the back of Alphys' tiny little car before they were off.

"Nice ride," Undyne said, her head brushing against the ceiling. "Nicer than the pics suggested, I mean."

Alphys smiled proudly from behind the wheel. "Th-thanks, Undyne. Uhm. Did you really mean it? About watching anime with me I mean? You aren't t-too tired?"

"Nah, are you kidding me? I'm too pumped to be home to go to sleep, ya nerd."

Alphys' brain seemed to isolate the word 'home' - it echoed around in her head for the rest of the ride.

When they got up to her apartment on the second floor, Alphys was panting. The elevator was out of order - of course - and she had insisted on carrying one of Undyne's bags up for her. Fumbling with her keys, she managed to unlock her door though her hands were shaking, and in they went.

It was a modest apartment with the kitchen/dinning room by the entrance, a moderately cramped living room in the back, her bedroom and bathroom both branched off from the right. There was a tiny balcony that could barely fit one chair on it, seldom used, beyond the living room.

Right now it was pretty messy.

Alphys felt mortification creep in, even as Undyne seemed unphased by the clutter of dirty dishes, paperwork, DVDs, and discarded articles of clothing. Setting down the luggage she had been carrying for her, Alphys scrambled around the apartment to at least collect her dirty clothes from view, panting all the while.

Undyne wheeled her belongings into the living room and flopped onto the couch, her hands behind her head. "Niiiice place, Alphy."

"O-oh, th-thank you," she squeaked, throwing her clothes into her room and closing the door as fast as she could. She rolled up her sleeves and started on the dishes next.

"Woah, take a load off, will ya?"

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a g-guest," Alphys said, turning on the tap and starting something she figured she probably should have done several days ago - scrubbing her sink full of dishes. "I'll just be a few mi-minutes. Make yourself at home. Th-there's snacks and drinks in the fr-fridge!"

Undyne shook her head and kicked her shoes off, wiggling her toes and glancing around. Photos occupied the walls pretty heavily; she noticed Frisk's and Mettaton's face outnumbered the rest, but there seemed to be a photo of almost everyone. Herself included. Her eyes flickered over to Alphys, visible through a break in the wall where a few plants hung, and stayed there while Alphys worked through her dishware.

When, finally, she finished, Alphys came to join Undyne in the living room, sinking into an arm chair beside it. She closed her eyes and sighed, wishing she had done all of this cleaning this morning before she left.

The light in the kitchen was the only light source in the apartment at the moment; behind them, their reflections mimicked them from the glass sliding door - beyond them, the distant lights of the city disrupted the dark sky with a gentle orange glow. The moon peaked out at them from between tree branches as it rose in the sky.

Silence hung between them nicely; both of them felt the pull of exhaustion but neither of them wanted to give in to it. Soaking up each others company in a dimly lit room was fine by Alphys.

It didn't last long, though. Undyne sat up from her position and, though the light case a deep shadow over her face, Alphys could tell she was looking at her. Alarmed by this, Alphys reached to the light positioned right by her chair and pulled the chain to turn it on. Both of them squinted at the sudden change in the brief bout of time it took for their eyes to adjust.

"Al?"

Undyne's voice was soft, her expression... curious.

Alphys froze and swallowed hard. She couldn't help but think that Undyne looked beautiful in this lighting, in her home, on her couch. Chest pounding, Alphys gave a breathy response, "Yes Undyne?"

Their eyes met and they held each others gaze. Alphys grew redder with each passing moment and even Undyne's cheeks tinged a light shade of purple. Undyne leaned in and Alphys mirrored her without thinking. Suddenly,

"ARE YOU READY TO GET WRECKED IN MARIO KART OR WHAT?"

Alphys threw herself back into the chair while Undyne cackled, covering her eyes with her claws and drawing her feet up as well. Undyne jumped up from the couch and began to tear apart the contents of her bags in search of the game and Alphys... Well Alphys remained frozen in her position of terror until Undyne set everything up.

An few hours into the night, the two of them sat nearly hip to hip, Undyne jumping up every so often and exclaiming protests loudly and Alphys reminding her that her walls were on the thinner side and that she had neighbors. They were tied game to game and the moon was high overhead now, invisible to them though the silvery light lit up the view from the sliding door. It was late. Both of them felt sleep tug on their eyelids.

"Tie breaker match?" Undyne suggested with a hoarse voice. Alphys nodded and hooked her foot under her knee, settling comfortably into the back of the couch.

Undyne won.

"Okay, okay," Alphys surrendered her controller as Undyne again jumped up from the couch in victory, fists in the air and all of her pointed teeth visible in a huge grin. "Do you want to head to bed now? It's pretty late."

" _Late_?" Undyne howled with laughter, hugging herself. "Alphys, Alphys, _Alphys_ , it's only midnight."

Alphys felt her nostrils flare in indignation. "We did a lot today!"

Undyne sat down and threw her arm around Alphys' shoulders, pinning her to her side and kicking her feet up onto the coffee table before them. Alphys wondered if every drop of blood had managed to creep into her face, because it sure as hell felt like it did.

"We have anime to watch," Undyne said, picking up the remote and trying to figure out how to switch the television's input. "How do I switch this damn thing to the DVD player?"

"U-uhm, like th-this," Alphys said, taking the remote from Undyne and showing her. "A-are you sure about this, Undyne?"

"Hell yeah I'm sure! Don't tell me you have to _work_ tomorrow?"

"No! No, I don't, actually."

Alphys chanced a side glance at Undyne, who was now fiddling with the DVD remote - trying to get her copy of Kuragehime to play.

"Have you seen this yet, Al? It's really cute."

"N-not yet, I-I was going to start after I f-finished this se-season to Mew Mew Kissy Cutie-"

"Great. You're gonna love it."

Alphys expected Undyne to let her go and move away but all that happened was that her grip slackened. Her hand slid down from Alphys' shoulder to her arm, her fingers even drumming lightly against her scales. Alphys didn't think she was going to be able to focus on the anime very much but with thoughts she didn't want to spend time thinking about crawling into her head she damn well tried her best.

It didn't work. Alphys barely caught what was going on in the plot of the show while she argued with herself. Surely Undyne's feelings had faded, after a year of distance? But then, why was she holding her so close? Why did she keep catching Undyne staring at her? Surely she was wrong. Friends did that kind of stuff all of the time... But they had shared a mutual attraction at one point, maybe somehow that survived the distance...?

Not two episodes in and Undyne began to yawn every ten minutes, and Alphys caught every one of them. Halfway through the third episode, Undyne's hold on Alphys had loosened completely and Alphys looked over to see that she had fallen asleep.

She got up from the couch and disappeared into her room, returning with a pillow and a blanket. Setting up the pillow, she attempted to guide Undyne's head, but her awkward hands must have stirred her - for Undyne's eyes fluttered open and she let out groan of protest.

"Now, n-now," Alphys said gently. "We can pick up on this tomorrow, j-just lay down... I've got you a pillow and a blanket here..."

Undyne complied and laid down, another great yawn stretching her jaw open. Alphys threw the blanket over her and pet her hair. Undyne looked at her through tired, grateful eyes.

"G'night, Alphy..."

"Good night Undyne."

She was sleeping again by the time Alphys had turned off both the light and the TV, and had started snoring when Alphys slipped into her own room to catch some sleep herself.


End file.
